WISE Learners' Voice

Why Take Part?

“As a refugee currently living in exile in Kenya, this program has exposed me to many skills and opportunities that are shaping my day-to-day work with fellow refugees in the Kakuma Refugee Camp. Being part of the WISE Learners’ Voice has exposed me to a community of brilliant, like-minded young professionals who are working tirelessly to improve education and bring about social change in their own communities. The program has offered me with important skills in leadership, creative thinking and innovation, team work, and social entrepreneurship, which have greatly contributed to the betterment and growth of my organization and other initiatives I lead in my community.”

“Participating in the WISE Learners’ Voice program has been one of the most empowering experiences I’ve ever had and the lifelong friendships that I have developed with fellow learners and mentors have extended beyond the program itself. Through the Learners’ Voice Program, I have learned to work in an international team to develop an educational project from scratch: from identifying a need to engaging with stakeholders and creating a business model. If you’re passionate about education, want to create positive change and become a global leader, apply to become a WISE Learner”

“The program ignited my passion for finding practical solutions to addressing global education challenges. Throughout the year, I learned about education theories, design thinking, and entrepreneurship which I was able to apply in my project. During the program, we had the opportunity to design and pilot an education program targeted toward middle school children in Qatari public schools.”

“I found self-confidence and excitement by working on the yearlong program with an amazing group of people that I now consider as my family. I gained tremendously from the workshops to the debates and the continuous sharing of each other’s experience in the fields of business and education. The program was a truly life changing experience for me.”

“The WISE Learners’ Voice program is a tremendous opportunity to learn and practice the skills of creative thinking, collaboration and purposeful networking. Daily I was inspired by the brilliant people, both peers and mentors, from all over the world with whom I worked, and I remain forever grateful for the opportunity to cultivate new skills, understand innovations in education, develop a new entrepreneurial venture, interact with world-leading professionals and make great friends. What an experience in 12 months!”

“It is hard to choose just a few aspects of Learners' Voice to talk about because there are so many wonderful things to take away from my experience as a Learner. The most immediate is the community made available to you, one that blooms outward from the Learners themselves to the network of experts working for and with WISE. For me the greatest opportunity afforded by WISE was to facilitate a dialogue with all of these incredible people, from peers my age who are agents of positive change in their countries to the established leaders of educational projects and systems that are truly changing the world. I'm excited to see the Learner community continue to grow and to see what my fellow Learners will be accomplishing!”

“The thing I am most grateful for from the Learners' Voice program is that it gave me the confidence to believe in the power of my own voice and opinions. It gave me the confidence to express my visions in changing education and gave me the opportunity to make those visions and ambitions a reality through the project at the end of the program.”

“Participating in the WISE Learners Voice program is an enriching experience; it allows a diverse group of individuals, from different educational backgrounds and contexts, to come together to discuss, learn and understand key topics in education. The Learners’ Voice program enables discussions of education globally, how people in different contexts value education and what a better education means to them. The uniqueness of this program is that the diversity of the group, brought together from across the world, will work on, and thrive, in proposing multidisciplinary innovative solutions for better education globally.”

“It is a life-changing experience through which you can explore your own passions and skills more deeply, get to meet outstanding young people with a similar mindset, and be exposed to professional workshops and debates that open your eyes to issues with which you were previously unfamiliar.”

“The Learners’ Voice program has stimulated me intellectually as a young professional interested in education and social justice. It has enlightened me in both my professional and personal life. The Learners’ Voice program gave me a welcome opportunity to meet and interact with policy-makers, diplomats, politicians, academics, scholars, decision-makers and other young people. It has opened doors for me and given me a platform for my voice to be heard. It truly is a phenomenal initiative that molds and mentors the future decision-makers in the ever-changing field of education.”

“The WISE Learners’ Voice Program is an opportunity to experience a high-quality, whole-minded, and diverse learning process. (…) You also get the opportunity to apply what you learn through an educational project.”

“I am motivated to be a member of Learners’ Voice because it provides an effective means to get my messages heard. Membership ensures a life-long network to help with any initiative I may establish. I love the way WISE grouped us to do assignments because brainstorming with people of overlapping concerns and different academic backgrounds to solve a particular issue is really helpful in terms of preparation for the problems of the future, which are often multi-sectoral. Since the assignment has only just begun, I don’t have much to say about it now but I’d love to share my experiences later on.”

“Being a WISE Learner is a complex thing, perhaps best described as synonymous with being an educational activist. The Learners’ Voice program provides an opportunity - accompanied by responsibility - to become more aware of, and attempt to solve, global problems.”